Machina Capital S.A.S. Invests $892,000 in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,649 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.42.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 64 shares in the company, valued at $10,180.48. This represents a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $162.67 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.84 and a 200-day moving average of $136.38.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 54.41%.

Yum! Brands Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.